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The Shack's Best of E3 2007

The Shack editors rack their brains to settle on their top games of E3 2007, so you don't have to figure out which previews are worth reading.

This year's revamped E3 may have been on a smaller scale than the events of years past, but there was no shortage of great games out on display and behind closed doors. Each member of the Shack editorial team has picked his standout game of the show and, in entirely arbitrary order (I even jumbled them after they were sent in, just to be sure -ed.), five or six additional highlights. Editors only chose from games they saw firsthand at E3, which in some cases limited the available choices. Each game blurb is followed by a link to thorough preview coverage.

Rock Band, from Harmonix Music Systems, deserves special mention for being the only game to show up on the lists of all four editors. It's just that awesome. Other games with multiple nods include Retro Studios' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Valve's The Orange Box (consisting of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortres 2, and Portal, as well as Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One), and Irrational Games' BioShock.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) Retro StudiosAs much as I expected out of this game, it still utterly blew me away. The controls are dead on, the visuals are great, it has Super Metroid-esque stackable weapons, you can aim freely while locked on... With all that, as well as what appears to be an atmospheric return to top Prime form, just stick it in my veins. (Preview)

Rock Band (PS3, X360), Harmonix Music Systems Does anybody doubt this is going to be amazing at this point? All of Who's Next by The Who seals the deal for me, as if it weren't already sealed. (Preview)

Mass Effect (X360), BioWare This gets better every time I see it. Old-school science fiction with progressive game design. Win. (Preview)

BioShock (PC, X360), Irrational Games I revisited BioShock at E3 to check it out on PC after having played the first several hours on Xbox 360. It's still amazing! (Preview 1, 2)

Sabotage (PC, X360), Replay Studios (Shown at E.I.E.I.O.; Honorary Best of E3) It's World War II, but it's not a shooter--and it wraps up several clever gameplay concepts into what seems to be a cohesive whole. (Preview)

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Houglass (NDS), Nintendo This year's theme among the N's flagship trio--Mario, Metroid, Zelda--seems to be unusual but impeccable control. And you can draw on Link's map! (Preview)

Chris Faylor:

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3), Insomniac Games
Insomniac debuts one of the first of the PS3's second-generation games, which just so happens to be the long-awaited, gorgeous fifth entry in its beloved Ratchet & Clank series. Not only does it bring back the duo's knack for innovative weaponry and enjoyable platforming action, it also features dancing goldfish and penguins. (Preview)

StarCraft II (PC)Blizzard Entertainment Just talking about another StarCraft game is enough to get my Overlords quivering. Even in video form and a year away from release, I'm confident. Blizzard is doing everything right by taking it slow and responding to feedback. The very fact that the studio might radically change the dynamic of the single-player campaign has me playing the original game over in anticipation. Can't wait to play at BlizzCon. (Interview)

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (PS2, PSP), High Voltage Software Hilarious Birdmanness with Capcom characters as a bonus. (Preview)

Everyday Shooter (PS3), Queasy Games Musical integration with old school gameplay guarantees a good time with this indie title scooped up by Sony for the PlayStation Network. (Preview)

Crysis (PC), Crytek The Shacknews staff is only human, and as such we have made the grievous mistake of failing to include Crytek's remarkable Crysis on any individual list--and so, it is appended here. Truly a visual masterpiece, Crysis looks to expand on Far Cry's wide-open gameplay by infusing it with entertaining superpower-like abilities.